Weak Affiliation to the Host Country

For the most part mainstream society interprets the headscarf as a religious or political symbol. But, in reality, very little is known about the motives of the women who wear headscarves. For this reason the German Konrad Adenauer Foundation conducted a survey. Sabine Ripperger reports

Woman wearing a headscarf (photo: Konrad Adenauer Foundation)
The interviewee's sense of solidarity with Turkey was appreciably higher at 71 percent than with Germany, the study found

​​Altogether 315 Turkish-born women in Hamburg, Berlin, the Rhineland and Stuttgart were interviewed for the study "The headscarf – the unveiling of a symbol?", conducted under the auspices of the Christian-Democratic-Party-affiliated Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Institute for Intercultural Management (imap).

The aims of the study, explained Christoph Kannengießer, Deputy Secretary General of the Adenauer Foundation, were "to learn more about how these women think, namely to find out what the headscarf means from the perspective of the women who wear it. Not to find out what it means objectively, nor how it is interpreted or received, what effect it has on third parties, but solely and exclusively for the purpose of finding out what symbolic power it has from the perspective of those who wear it. And in particular what motivates these women to wear the headscarf and what are their views on various social and political issues."

Cross-section of Islamic life in Germany

The survey was conducted by bilingual interviewers (Turkish/German), mostly female students. With a bilingual questionnaire in hand they visited various mosque communities and interviewed Turkish-born women between the ages of 18 and 40 who were wearing headscarves. For the most part women who freely choose to wear the headscarf were selected for the survey. The mosque communities were selected so that they would represent a cross-section of Islamic life in Germany. The spectrum ranged from communities being observed by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution to more liberal communities.

One of the study's findings is that most of the women interviewed wear the headscarf for religious reasons. Ninety-seven percent regard it as a religious duty. In most cases the decision to wear a headscarf was a personal decision influenced more by the woman's father or mother than by persons outside the family.

Convinced of the superiority of Islam

Frank Jessen, one of the authors of the study, pointed out that when asked if they ever felt put at a disadvantage because of the headscarf, 54 percent of the women said they felt put at a disadvantage, 18 percent were not sure, and 28 percent said they didn't feel put at a disadvantage.

While the views of Turkish women who wear headscarves are very similar to those of their German peers about issues concerning partnership, freedom, financial security, and even childbearing, there are still major differences that derive primarily from religious beliefs. Like many devout Muslims, the women interviewed are convinced of the superiority of Islam compared to other religions.

A majority of the Turkish-born women wearing headscarves did not feel at home in Germany. Their sense of solidarity with Turkey was appreciably higher at 71 percent than with Germany. Eighty percent of the participants stated that Turkish people in Germany were treated like second-class citizens.

Immediate need for an intense dialogue

Christoph Kannengiesser talks about the ambivalent image that has emerged from the study while still emphasizing the positive:

"Yet there is a surprising proximity between the views held by Muslim women who wear headscarves and those of mainstream society. However, there are also a number of insights that give us cause for concern: for instance, the great distance these women felt from the host country in which some of them were born, at least in any case in which they have lived for quite a long time … here we see an immediate need to start an intense dialogue, because these are attitudes that are not favorable for integration into mainstream society."

The study makes it very clear, concludes Kannengießer, how important it is to improve the integration process in Germany:

"What is certain is that we must not allow these women or any other groups to become isolated in Germany. This is a mandate for German society, but also an appeal to the group involved in the study here to open itself up more for integration. Muslims are now a part of German society. And this includes women and girls who wear headscarves."

Christoph Kannengießer also pointed out that the study's findings do not indicate that wearing a headscarf is accompanied by a dubious understanding of state and democracy. Most of the women interviewed believed in the equality of all human beings and did not espouse any fundamentalist beliefs.

Sabine Ripperger

© DEUTSCHE WELLE/Qantara.de 2006

Translated from the German by Nancy Joyce

Qantara.de

The Headscarf and the Media
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The Islamic headscarf is seen by the media and in public debate as a symbol of the oppression of Muslim women by their religion. Sabine Schiffer argues that this perception is often linked to stereotypes and prejudice, and that the media often try to read too much into the headscarf

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The debate on the Muslim headscarf is becoming increasingly tainted by ideology, and not only in Germany and France. In Turkey, too, the controversy increasingly threatens to divide public opinion, as Dilek Zaptcioglu reports from Istanbul

Dossier
The Headscarf Debate
In the West and the Islamic world alike, the headscarf is the subject of heated discussions. We take a closer look at various aspects of the debate and highlight its background and social reality

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